Is DD’s art work good enough to sell.

[themotherhoodproject]

NC for this as a regular user of MN and this is fairly outing but looking for peoples unbiased opinions.

DD is an A level Art student, it’s actually not where her love lies she is hoping to apply for BIMM’s university In Bristol to peruse music and she also does performing arts.

However she is very talented in her painting and blows me away weekly with her work, we have had a few extra special things from her (some of you might remember the snowman Christmas card, it seemed very popular) and lots of people on here saying that they would buy if able too.

Another few months have gone by and we just had another cracker of a card from her (a thank you card for a friend) and well I just think it’s wonderful and have said she should really think about taking on commissions.

We live in a very rural area so lots of horse and dog lovers and I honestly think she could make a bit of pocket money to put away for uni life or fritter away on gigs noodles and vinyl

Can I ask what people think, she is only a year into A level art and will have lots more of technique to learn but maybe £15 a painting she might have some takers?

You’re focusing on the style, the poster is talking about the skill/quality level.

Not RTFT and not an art expert, but I think it’s beautiful @themotherhoodproject and
I would definitely buy it.

For all the David Brents on here...

I just want to say this is so wholesome and your daughter is lucky to have such a proud mum! Also art materials are expensive and it's pretty hard to get your costs back and time covered!

If that picture is representative of her style she would sell, but not at £15. If you feel she has a passion and ability to do this professionally then she should consider a few things…

1. the materials she’s using, are they consistent? If you could get a body of work together as a portfolio clients can see a style and will often buy into work which is cohesive.

2. 4 hours of work for £15 is not particularly motivating, I would say works of A4 size start around £80 if on paper or board, maybe slightly more for canvas and go up from there. Underpricing art often does the opposite of encouraging sales.

3. where she intends to sell them, galleries take a commission so Etsy could be a great way to offer a few generic animal pieces for sale and then offer commissions too. Check your local art community for any open shows she could enter work into, more for the exposure rather than selling a piece.

It's good but not good enough to sell. Sorry! You're right to be super proud of her though 😄

No I was focusing on it all.

I’m sure there are lots of talented equine/pet artists could have used as an example and i would have thought “Ahh I see what you mean” it’s not that I’m throwing my toys out my pram because the PP was comparing my daughter to a more established artist.

Its just that I don’t like the technique/skill of this particular bit of work.

I guess however it shows what has been pointed out lots of times already, art is subjective and what one person may enjoy and buy another wouldn’t

Agree with this! It’s good but I don’t think people would flock to buy it.

ah so not a picture but from a photo ?

which makes much more sense as that is how i would expect a pet portrait to be done.

Kindly meant, but while the example given in your op is done to a good standard it's not at all unusual for an A-level student to be at that standard. There are hundreds of A-Level Art students in every town and city adding up to 200,000+ per year across the country. Art starts getting worth money when it's being done to a standard that is a lot rarer than that. It's about supply and demand. There's a supply of competent A-Level standard art that way outstrips the demand so it's unlikely to sell much.

The way to make money is to specialise into something where there's less supply and more demand eg taking commissions.

Honestly OP some of the replies on here. And people comparing this portrait to established selling artists with huge portfolios and websites. Dear god talk about missing the point.

Your daughter is obviously skilled and has artistic talent. She is also a teenager just starting out.

Etsy has many sellers doing portraits , no better, no worse than this . She should give that a go. It is all about practice and honing your craft and this would be a great way to do it.

I would suggest moving to dogs though! More of them about. And raising her price to £25/£30 to start.

Good luck to your daughter. There is NO reason your daughter couldn't make some money doing this. And get valuable practice. You only improve by actually doing it.

Not a chance!!!

She should not be underselling herself or her time.

You must be very proud

Okay now this is a bit embarrassing 😂

I know a teenager who does dog portraits. No idea how much she charges but I'd take the time it takes your DD and put £10/hour.

who knew there was so many art critics on here! I think it is good there will be people who will buy them, it's a great idea to get some practice in and make a few pennies! I hope she has lots of success!

Also I wonder if many posters in here have actually been on Etsy.

And don't worry about AI ! Totally irrelevant in this context.

She’s good OP! I think people are criticising because they’re focusing on the yellow hood thing on the ears.

Your DD is very talented. Beautiful piece of work

Also to say OP, the yellow hat(?) is very striking. It’s a great painting. Art is subjective and many people think animal pictures have to be photo like, they overlook the subtleties and stylistic elements of work like your DDs. If she developed a signature look of her animals with bright elements like the yellow buyers would pick up on her style rather than seeing her as a generic animal portraitist.

Yep, I think a lot of people would love to receive a card with a picture of their pet on which they could then frame. £15 for 6 hours work won't make her much money though.

She may do better to do larger portraits to sell for more, but also have a few prints made of her better pictures as generic cards she can sell for £2.50-£4, or packs of 5 for £10.

Have a look at notonthehighstreet.com or etsy for pricing.

*This is the standard that people will want to purchase

www.sarahspetportraits.co.uk/portfolio/horse-portraits/*

You sound very confident about that. Do you ever go on Etsy?

It is very good, but it’s not really good enough to charge any meaningful amount. Horses are hard, but she’s missing tone, shading and lighting details. If she makes her style more impressionist, using a softer medium like charcoal, and adding sharp detail with a charcoal pencil, she’d get away with it, but currently not. It is literally practice and study though, she can work towards it.

I think what’s being said is that there is a clear difference in standard between your daughter’s work and the work attached. It obviously (not subjectively) is the case, and if you are going to make any sort of money from selling art, this is the standard people expect and your daughter isn’t there yet. Thats not to say she won’t be - I’m sure the linked artist was at your daughter’s standard at some stage too.

Keep encouraging her but as others have said, don’t pressurise her or set her up to fail.

think what’s being said is that there is a clear difference in standard between your daughter’s work and the work attached. It obviously (not subjectively) is the case, and if you are going to make any sort of money from selling art, this is the standard people expect and your daughter isn’t there yet. Thats not to say she won’t be - I’m sure the linked artist was at your daughter’s standard at some stage too.

Also it is totally missing the point.

It's like comparing someone who wants to sell the odd victoria sponge with an established Chef. Totally ridiculous.

I do wonder about about these posters talking with authority. OP is not trying to compare her daughter with these people.

These are some people selling their work on Etsy. I didn't look very hard or carefully.

Themotherhoodproject I think its excelleint TBH,I would most certainly pay £15.00! A snip at that ,if she does Dalmatians!